


Homerun

by tilimwornout



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Character Development, Coming of Age, Eventual Happy Ending, First Crush, Fluff and Angst, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:27:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26723638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tilimwornout/pseuds/tilimwornout
Summary: Baseball is stupid, Seulgi decides when she's forced to watch one of her brother's games alone.Joohyun can't stand the older Kang either. When she sits next to his sister on the bleachers, the two girls start a friendship that sets the trajectory of their futures.As they work towards discovering and following their dreams, things get complicated when feelings get thrown into the mix.Spin-off of my fic "If you know someone nice", following Seulgi and Joohyun's past. You don't have to read it to enjoy this, but it would be nice if you do!
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kang Seulgi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	1. First pitch

Baseball is stupid, Seulgi decides. It’s her brother’s nth game of the season and the first she has to watch without her parents.

“Just go,” they told her.

Both of them were busy with their own work and honestly, her older brother never cared if they went or not.

The news this morning said the country was undergoing an economic crisis. In Seulgi’s teenage mind meant they had to work harder and be gone for longer.

It’s not like they would know if she didn’t go. But attendance was extra credit and would put her on the homeroom teacher’s good side.

The sun is a little too harsh for spring. Everyone is gathered on the lower end of the bleachers but she finds a spot with more shade, right at the very top.

She is aware the clouds will move and the sun will move and take away the shade she’s enjoying but it’s better than sitting with her brother’s friends who always seemed to stare.

Seulgi needs eyeglasses to see beyond a few feet but she keeps them inside the case she’s placed to her side. She’s not interested in actually watching the game.

He’s a jerk but her brother is annoyingly good at any sport he tries.

It’s one reason they can afford to attend this private preparatory school anyway. He’s on a full scholarship as part of the baseball varsity and Seulgi gets a sibling’s discount.

When he graduates in a few years, Seulgi would start high school, and her parents would have to pay full price.

All her middle school life will have to be dedicated to one goal: getting a scholarship for high school.

Transferring wasn’t really an option. The Kang parents believed putting them in a good school will increase their chances of getting into top universities even if they were middle class at best.

So at the tender age of 14, she’s weighing her options: an academic scholarship, a sports one, or she could try for the practical arts program.

Seulgi is good at PE.

She can easily outrun everyone in her class. (She thanks her elementary school playmates for that.)

She excels in Taekwondo and Taekkyeon, and can manage well at any sport you throw her way.

Except archery. Seulgi was good at that until her eyesight worsened.

The problem is, she’s not really an expert at any one of these nor is she passionate enough for any of them to dedicate long hours past school.

Don’t even try to convince her to go for the academic scholarship. She studies hard just to make the cut-off grades but she’s not someone who tops the class. After the exam and getting a satisfying score, she forgets everything she learned.

Practical arts was looking promising. She’s not sure what to specialize in yet but she loves making art, enjoys singing and dancing even if it’s just in the bathroom mirror, and it actually makes her happy.

All she needs to do is pass the evaluation right before middle school graduation and she has plenty of time to improve her skills to that level. It’s not something she has to force herself to do.

The cheers, she can tune out, but her thoughts are interrupted when she notices someone take the seat next to her. In a venue that was barely full, it was questionable behavior.

It's usually some boy doing things like that but it's a petite older girl. The first thing Seulgi notices is her fair skin followed by her dark, long hair. The texture was unbelievable. Seulgi's was a little puffy in comparison.

Staring is rude but her new seatmate is the kind of pretty that would have anyone at awe. She has a gentle aura that parents and teachers seem to love too.

Pretty isn't even the right word. She's beautiful.

The young girl wonders if she'll look that good once she gets past the awkward early half of one's teenage years.

Her parents tell her she’s pretty and charming, calls her their princess, but hearing it from other people would be nice.

She looks away quickly even if the older girl doesn't even spare her a look.

Yet as if it's some kind of offering to appease her, the girl gives Seulgi a bottle of water and quietly places a piece of gyeranppang in the space between them.

Seulgi thanks her quietly, hoping it’s loud enough to hear because she doesn’t want to repeat herself. She takes the bread and water and starts eating, pretending to watch the game.

“You can see better if you wear your glasses,” the older girl says. She’s strange, Seulgi thinks. She’s sitting with her knees together and with proper posture. This is a baseball game.

“I’m not exactly interested in watching,” Seulgi admits quietly.

The girl tilts her head curiously. “You see that boy over there? Number 15? Everyone thinks he’s so great because he’s a star athlete but he’s such a jerk.”

Seulgi swallows hard and almost laughs. So everyone agrees her brother is a jerk.

“That’s my older brother.”

Her seatmate takes a good look at her and back at the boy. When the realization hits her, her composure breaks and she bursts into laughter.

“I would say 'no way' but you look exactly alike."

The younger girl shakes her head. "I get that a lot. It's weird."

"If anything, that face looks better on you than it does on him."

Seulgi tries not to show she's flustered. It's not exactly being called pretty but it feels good to hear.

"I'm Bae Joohyun, by the way," she says, holding her hand out. Only now does Seulgi notice a bit of an accent. "10th grader. Your awful brother is in a few of my general education classes. I'm in practical arts."

She takes the hand and shakes it as firmly as she could. Joohyun's hands feel so delicate. "Kang Seulgi," she remembers to say after a moment. "7th grade. My parents made me go to watch his stupid game again."

Joohyun frowns at her. "I actually like watching baseball though. I just hate his guts."

"What's your favorite team?"

The older girl raises her brows. She's sitting in a more relaxed manner now, palms resting against the bleachers. "SK Wyverns. You?"

"So you like winners," Seulgi comments, laughing. "I like the Hanhwa Eagles, I guess. They're my parents' favorite team because they're originally from Daejeon."

"I love to win. It's only right I choose winners," Joohyun replies, smiling. "Ah so you're the patriotic type or something like that. Or you just really like what makes your parents happy?"

Seulgi nods. "The second option? I guess that's why they're so happy my brother is playing varsity too."

Joohyun looks at Seulgi again. "I'm sure you got something they can be proud of too."

"You just met me," the younger girl replies. "How would you know I'm not totally mediocre?"

"You have pretty hands," Joohyun replies, as if that explains anything. "Which means you probably have an affinity for creating things."

Seulgi nods, impressed. "You said you're in practical arts, right?"

"Majoring in theater and film, yes," she replies. "Are you going to aim for the visual arts track?"

"How did you guess?"

The older girl chuckles. "I think I overheard Kang talking about you winning some art competition last week. Well, more like some guys asking him if you were his sister. They saw the photos from the awarding ceremony on the bulletin board."

"Ah, that's so embarrassing," Seulgi mumbles. "Are you… dreaming of becoming an actress?"

Joohyun squints at her. "Are you asking that because I'm pretty?"

"No?"

"No, that's not the reason or no, I'm not pretty?" the high schooler asks, a smirk already forming on her face.

Seulgi shrugged. "I feel like I've seen you on TV or something. Or I don't know. Maybe actresses all have the same kind of vibe."

"Is it the milk commercial?"

The younger girl chuckles, remembering the jingle. She didn't expect to be right. "Yeah, the one with the jingle."

Joohyun sings a bit for her and slaps her knee in laughter. "People don't really recognize me without makeup, which is great, because then I never had to deal with being called the milk girl. How did you recognize me?"

Seulgi shrugs. "I didn't even realize it until now."

"It's a few small commercial roles for now but just so you watch. They'll be talking about me all around the world," she claims.

There's an air of confidence around her and Seulgi wonders if she can find something she's that passionate about.

"Looks like they've won," Joohyun announces, pointing at the team huddling around cheering.

Seulgi notices her brother scanning the bleachers for her and she waves at him. He points at his team and Seulgi gives him two thumbs up, knowing that she'd have to go home alone again.

"They're gonna go celebrate," she tells Joohyun, as if the older girl doesn't already know that's what a team does when they win.

She shuts her eyes in embarrassment.

"Well, do you want to go get a snack?" Joohyun offers. It's clear she's not one to join her class in festivities either.

From a distance, some kids she assumes are from Joohyun's class wave towards their direction and the older girl simply gives them a slight flick of her wrist.

"We just ate," Seulgi replies. "And you already bought me food so I'll feel awkward if you offer."

Joohyun pulls her up by the sleeve of her shirt and she willingly follows. "Then you have to buy me food so we're even."

"What?"

"There's a tteokbokki stall near the high school dorms, let's go."

Seulgi checks her bag for her wallet and follows along, tensing for a second when the older girl loops their arms together.

"Unnie, do you live in the dorms?"

"I'm not from Seoul," Joohyun responds, the accent more apparent now.

She's definitely from the Southern provinces, but Seulgi can't tell which one.

"Good old Bukgu in Daegu," the older girl fills in.

Joohyun tells her a little more about herself, mentioning that she has a little sister who's five years younger and her parents are rather young.

"They were only 25 when they had me," she shares. She placed the order herself and held her palm out for Seulgi to give her the money.

This would be extortion in any case, but Seulgi does not know that word yet and the pretty unnie talking to her is quite captivating.

"Why did they let you study all the way here?" Seulgi asks, waiting for Joohyun to take the first bite before eating.

The older girl thankfully doesn't wait too long after getting seated.

"I was scouted when I was much younger but they wouldn't let me pursue it," Joohyun shares. "I was 11? They said I was too young, I wouldn't be sure if that was what I wanted to do. Then I started to realize I really do want to be an actress. They must have felt bad from holding me back then. I managed to get a scholarship so I'm here."

Seulgi nods. "So this is your first year here too?"

"Yup," the aspiring actress says, grinning. "I'm getting good at the Seoul dialect, right? I worked with a coach over the summer. I still go on weekends."

The younger girl giggles when she moves from one accent to another. "It sounds fun."

"My accent?"

Seulgi's eyes widen, afraid she's said something wrong, and she nods tentatively. "People find it charming on TV, right?"

"But not in real life," Joohyun says, taking another bite of her rice cakes. "Do you have a phone, Kang Seulgi?"

The girl reaches for her bag and shyly shows Joohyun the device. It's a Samsung flip phone, nothing much. The older girl owns the newest Motorola Razr. She saves her number on Seulgi's phone and asks Seulgi for her number.

Joohyun tells Seulgi that, if she'd like, they can talk or hang out any time.

"From one outcast, new girl to another."

Seulgi laughs. "Unnie, you'll be a celebrity someday. What outcast?"

Even after that explanation, Seulgi still isn't sure why a cool unnie would want to be friends with a kid like her. Did she fake not knowing who she was?

Joohyun folds her phone shut, grins. "Then you can tell everyone you knew me before I was famous."

After a moment, Joohyun asks. "What do you want to be exactly, Seulgi?"

"You call me my first name and my brother by our last name," she points out, ignoring the question at first.

"Well, I don't hate you," she replies cheekily. It makes Seulgi smile. "So, what's the dream?"

She shrugs. "Isn't that too big of a question for a kid my age?"

"People ask kids that at kindergarten."

"It just feels like I should have a serious answer by now," Seulgi explains, fidgeting. "Middle school is to prepare for high school, which is to prepare for the CSAT."

Joohyun reaches over to pat her head. "It's okay not to have an answer now. You have a lot of options if you do go for visual arts. There's traditional illustration, painting, animation, even photography."

Seulgi quirks up at the mention of photography. "My mom wanted to be a photographer."

"Then that's a solid option," the older girl says cheerfully. "If you get the chance, practice. You can be my personal photographer. It's a win-win situation. I get profile photos and you can build a portfolio."

The kid laughs. "You are really good at convincing people. Are you sure you want to be an actress?"

Joohyun grins at her. "That's exactly what an actress does."


	2. Star player

It takes Seulgi a while to text Joohyun first but the older girl isn't the type to seek conversation anyway.

Joohyun texts in short, informal phrases and Seulgi figures it's fine since she's older.

Her texts are quick questions, random thoughts, and updates on what she's up to. Sometimes she texts just to say something, not really expecting a reply, disappearing for an hour or so at a time.

Which is great because Seulgi doesn't really know what to say and texting doesn't take up the time she needs to be using for homework.

She learns her new unnie is good at geography and literature, so it comes in handy when she's stuck on some questions.

It becomes apparent that they prefer hanging out in person because that means they can just chill without saying anything.

They figure out each other's unsupervised study periods, work together quietly in the high school library, and Seulgi thinks it's so cool even if her uniform gives away that she's not from there.

As they spend more time together and have more snacks together, they learn about each other and find they have more in common than just being annoyed by the older Kang.

They don't have a lot of similarities, exactly. The two have very different tastes especially when it comes to food but they understand and know each other better than any of their classmates do.

When Joohyun walks Seulgi back to her class after having lunch together, the other girls talk about the pretty unnie and ask Seulgi what she's like.

"How did you become friends?"

"She knows your brother right? Is she his girlfriend?"

"Your brother is so cool," one of them swoons.

"Joohyun sunbaenim is so much cooler though," another replies.

The questions make Seulgi laugh and she refutes them quickly before any rumors spread.

Teenagers can be ruthless when it comes to those things.

Time passes by ridiculously fast in middle school, Seulgi notes.

Before long she's already in 8th grade and Joohyun in her 11th.

She's taller now, just about catching up to Joohyun, although she tries not to be in her face about it.

They start hanging out outside of school during the weekends, touring the cliché tourist spots as relatively new Seoulites, but Seulgi still has to be home before dinner.

When she's a little late one day, she begins to share about her best friend and her brother just pretends not to hear.

It's only natural for her parents, as sweet and accommodating as they always have been, to eventually tell Seulgi to invite her for dinner.

They couldn't take the thought of the poor girl pursuing her dreams all alone in a different city, far from her parents.

Joohyun finds the Kang parents very sweet as well if not a little bit overbearing.

She's polite and beautiful and easily the kind of girl any parent would love.

They only smile apologetically when they try to play matchmaker between the two classmates and they're welcomed with a resounding refusal.

"Your son is a gentleman," Joohyun says. 

(She's lying but this is how Seulgi knows she'll make it as an actress.)

"But I'm very focused on pursuing my dreams so dating is out of the question."

Their son looks at her weirdly from across the table and plays along, smoothly shifting the topic to an upcoming game.

Always their children's biggest fans, the Kang parents fall for the distraction.

Joohyun begins to become a more frequent guest in their humble apartment. She's there for dinner at least once a week and when the two girls don't really feel like going out, they spend the whole afternoon in Seulgi's room.

It's convenient because 1) the dorm has an 11PM curfew 2) they have a strict "no guest" policy.

They can have privacy and hang out without feeling pressured to go out.

Joohyun, through her own perseverance, is later cast for a small role as the younger version of the female lead and she needed to practiced her lines out loud with someone.

Her randomly assigned roommate for the fall semester is a STEM major who would rather not listen to her lines.

Anyone who has watched a drama has heard it all before. Her character is tearfully expressing her teenage angst about her rich but barely-present chaebol father.

Seulgi is just happy that her best friend's career is finally gaining real traction. Joohyun will only be in nine scenes throughout the series but she's determined to make them count.

Her parents, who at this point have started to consider Joohyun as their own daughter, were more than willing to let the budding actress stay a few more hours past dinner for practice.

"Minors can't work past 10PM," Joohyun tells the Kangs when they become concerned about her filming schedule. "I just hope I don't miss the dorm curfew."

"Can't the dorm be more considerate?" Seulgi's mother asks, giving her a serving of tonight's dinner.

Joohyun thanks her and shrugs. "Well, mom, I can get a permit to stay somewhere else overnight but it needs to be signed by a guardian."

The boy across her holds back a laugh when she calls his mother "mom". The lovely older woman gave her permission to do so weeks ago.

Joohyun smiles politely and lightly kicks his shin from under the table.

Seulgi, ever the clueless one, shows some concern when the boy grimaces but no one tries to explain what just happened.

"I can be your guardian," the mom of the other two offers. "My children are enrolled in the school and if we can coordinate it with your parents, I'm sure they will allow it. You can stay here."

"Where will she sleep?" the eldest son asks. "Because I'm not giving up my bedroom for her."

The mother sighs. "She can stay in Seulgi's room."

"In that tiny twin sized bed?" he asks again. He's bragging a little bit. He has a double sized bed in his own room.

"I don't mind sleeping on the floor," Joohyun offers, trying not to scowl at him.

Seulgi says she doesn't mind either, that's how they all used to sleep in their old home.

The Kang matriach clasps her hands together. Her expression is a little unsure but the girls seemed determined.

"Alright, give me your parents' contact details and the dorm's so we can sort something out."

It's not how Seulgi imagined her first sleepover to happen but she welcomes it all the same.

With the older girl filming her drama, Seulgi ends up spending more time with her classmates for the first time since transferring to the school.

"Why don't you hang out with Joohyun sunbaenim anymore?" Heejin asks as they work on a science activity together.

Seulgi smiles at her and starts whispering excitedly, "Can you keep a secret?"

"What do you take me for?" Heejin counters, laughing before Seulgi could panic. "Did she get a role?"

She nods eagerly. "It's a small one and I can't tell you what it is exactly but I'm so happy for her."

"I'll tell my mom and aunties to watch when the news comes out," her classmate whispers back. "My classmate's friend is an actress!"

Seulgi giggles. "Yeah, Joohyun unnie will officially be an actress."

She heads home as soon as they're dismissed at the end of the day. It will be hours until Seulgi's father picks Joohyun up from the set but she wants to get her homework out of the way before then.

She works on her English homework with a lot less trouble than she expected and wonders why she's more excited than she thought she would be.

After dinner, she retreats to her bedroom and finishes the rest of her homework there. The mattress is already on the floor with some pillows and their best blankets.

"Kang Seulgi!" Joohyun exclaims as soon as she enters the room past 10PM.

Her voice sounds a bit hoarse but the smile on her face is priceless, making Seulgi's heart swell with… happiness?

The older girl pulls Seulgi in for a hug when she gets up from her desk. Without knowing it, Seulgi has already grown taller than her.

"How did it go?" the younger girl asks happily.

She lets Joohyun go on and on about meeting the actress who plays the older version of her character, and continues talking about her even after Seulgi asks if she met the male lead.

"You must be so happy meeting one of your role models," Seulgi tells her.

The smile on Joohyun's face falters for a split second before she grins. "Yeah. My role model."

The younger girl looks at her curiously. She's blushing. Joohyun stares back and covers her mouth as she lets out an awkward laugh.

"I think I might have a girl crush."

Seulgi furrows her brows. She thinks she's heard of something like that before. "A girl crush?"

"Yeah. When you have an intense admiration for another girl. Like you want to be her?" Joohyun tries to explain even if she looks a little confused herself.

"I want to be like you," the younger girl says carefully but honestly. "Is that a girl crush?"

Joohyun laughs again, a little fuller this time. "You want to be like me? You need better role models, Kang Seulgi."

"But you're super cool!" Seulgi counters. "You're beautiful and talented and kind and you know what you want to be and you're working hard to make it happen."

The older girl smiles at her affectionately. "Alright. I'm honored. But I'm not that kind."

Seulgi frowns. "You are to me."

"How would you know how I'm like with other people?" she asks, expression serious.

The other girl thinks hard for a response but admits she couldn't come up with anything.

Joohyun simply ruffles the top of her head and sighs.

"If you think I'm kind, then maybe you're right. I think I'm most like myself when I'm with you."

A few things become more apparent as Joohyun finishes filming the rest of her scenes and sleeps over a few more times.

First, Joohyun's affinity for touching extends to when they're sleeping. They would go to bed a foot or two apart and wake up with Joohyun wrapping herself around Seulgi.

Second, Joohyun is scared of thunderstorms. On a particularly rainy night, Seulgi finds herself to be the one holding and comforting the older girl when thunder strikes.

Third, Seulgi is getting used to physical affection. She doesn't freeze when Joohyun touches her anymore but she learned the hard way not to suddenly touch the older girl.

Because fourth, Joohyun is very easily startled despite her brave exterior.

Fifth, Seulgi really is taller than Joohyun now. 159cm to her 158. She hopes to make it to at least 160cm before she stops growing taller.

("158cm is not that bad," Seulgi tells her. "At least you made it to five feet and an inch to spare!")

Finally, Joohyun is punctual. She always arrives on the dot.

So when she still isn't at their usual spot at the specific time, Seulgi braves the terrifying high school halls and looks for the classroom the older girl specified to her "in case of emergency".

They were supposed to hang out in the campus for the first time since Joohyun finished filming.

She's in there, as Seulgi expects, but there's some boy standing over her as she continues to work on her desk.

"Bae Joohyun," Seulgi overhears him saying although she doesn't mean to eavesdrop.

The older girl continues to work, ignoring him.

"You're so pretty but you're so hard to get. It stops being cute after a while," he complains, a hand in his pocket.

She sighs and slams her pen against the desk. Joohyun has her ways of asserting herself. "I'm not trying to be cute, Choi. For you or for anyone."

"But isn't that why you want to be an actress?" he asks. "You want the attention. You want to be praised." His tone is very demeaning now. If Seulgi was any braver, she would have gone in and tried to shut him up.

How? She's not sure exactly.

Joohyun starts fixing her things. Even from where Seulgi was looking, it was clear she was gripping things rather tightly even as she tries to steady her breath.

"I'm doing it because I want to," she finally says, pulling her backpack strap up to her shoulder.

Seulgi knows the answer.

("So I don't have to be myself," Joohyun told her with a humorless laugh.)

Seeing this unfold now, the younger girl begins to understand what she means.

"Hey, Kang!" someone calls out in the hallway. Seulgi turns to look and she recognizes it as someone from her brother's team. "Kang Jr. is here."

Her older brother appears from the end of the hallway. The boy brushes his bangs out of his face and sighs. "Seulgi, what are you doing here?"

Seulgi bites her lip and only looks into the room. That Choi kid is still trying to get on Joohyun's nerves.

"Joohyun, again?" her brother asks. "Ah, I swear our parents want her as their eldest child instead of me. Not you too."

The younger girl shrugs. "I don't think I have to tell you why."

He shakes his head. "I'm not that bad." For a second Seulgi thinks she heard his voice shake a bit.

The older Kang walks closer to the classroom door and clears his throat. "Hey. Choi."

"What is it, Mr. Star Player?" Choi barks back.

The baseball player is unfazed. He crosses his arms and speaks in a commanding tone. "Give it up."

The other boy sighs and steps back, finally letting Joohyun walk past. She looks up at Seulgi's older brother, eyebrows raised.

"Since when did you start caring about Bae Joohyun?" Choi asks. "Or anyone other than yourself, really."

"I already told you to stop being weird about my sister," her brother continues. Seulgi looks at him, surprised. "It doesn't give you the permission to creep on someone else. Especially her own best friend."

Seulgi shoots Joohyun a look, as if to ask if she knows anything about it.

"Later," the older girl replies, looking at the hallway beyond them then back at the classroom with the two boys.

Choi looks offended but he just laughs. "Fine."

"Good," the older Kang says. Seulgi couldn't see his face but that's how his usually cold tone sounds when he's pleased. "I don't want anything on my record and you don't want anything on yours."

The other boy wipes his face with the face towel around his neck. "It's not like there aren't girls who want me," he says smugly, bumping his shoulder aggressively as he walks out.

When he's out of sight, Seulgi's brother relaxes his shoulders and turns towards the two girls.

"He was being weird about me?" Seulgi asked, more to Joohyun than her brother.

"I don't know what they see in you, really," the older boy says, back to his cold facade. "Probably because girls our age could see past their bullshit."

The younger girl quickly pinches him. "Language, oppa."

He barely winces if he felt any pain at all. He chuckles instead. "Thank Joohyun."

"Thank you, Kang," the older girl says, her tone less cutting than the one she has used during the encounters Seulgi knows of.

He waves it off and excuses himself. "See you at home, kid."

"See you, oppa."

Seulgi watches him walk away and turns back to Joohyun, who says nothing and starts walking towards their usual spot.

"Since when were you two on speaking terms?" she asks when they make it to the benches. The area is covered by the largest tree on campus but thanks to some ghost tales, people rarely stay there.

The 11th grader smiles at her and presses a finger against the middle of her forehead. "This is why you shouldn't sleep in on Saturdays. You kept leaving me with him."

Seulgi scrunches her face and laughs. "Maybe he's right and he's not that bad. If you're talking."

Joohyun shrugs. "He's still annoying but he cares about you as his younger sister."

The older girl pulls out a snack from her bag and gives it to Seulgi.

"Am I really that good of an actress?"

"What do you mean?" Seulgi asks. "I've seen the clips you show me. You're great."

"That's not what I meant," she replies. "You still haven't caught on."

"...on what?"

"Why I sat next to you during that baseball game," Joohyun says, her voice more quiet than usual.

"Oh."

The older girl scoots closer to her. "I actually let it slip, if you were paying attention."

Seulgi tries to search her memory.

"I knew you were his sister," she explains, looking out into the distance. "And I heard how those boys in some of my classes talk about you."

The younger girl squirms and rubs her forearm. She's tried to forget about the way they have been coming onto her and was so relieved when it stopped.

"I'm sorry if this is an uncomfortable topic."

"It's fine," the younger girl responds. "Oppa said I should thank you… what did you do, exactly?"

Joohyun frowns. "Did you notice they eventually stopped approaching you?"

"Yeah."

"I couldn't stop myself when I saw it happen once. I couldn't believe you pretended to be fine after, either," she sighs.

"They're scared of me," the high schooler adds. "Well, most of them are. So some of them were deterred when you started hanging out with me but the ones that talked to you were the more persistent ones."

Seulgi looks up at her and apologizes.

"Don't," Joohyun says so abruptly, it makes Seulgi jump in her seat. "I'm sorry. I mean, don't apologize. That's why I couldn't stand your brother then."

"Then?"

"He's a little more tolerable now."

Seulgi laughs a little.

"He just ignored it and didn't even try to stop them. So when I ended up alone with him in your living room one Saturday morning, I knew I had to ask him to help."

"See, I sleep in on weekends for a good reason," Seulgi tries to joke. "And he helped?"

Joohyun nods. "You saw it yourself."

"Thank you," she murmurs, thinking of how she can thank her brother too without making it weird. "I don't know why I never spoke up about it. Maybe I thought it was just a thing that happens. And I didn't want to bother anyone."

The older girl places a hand on her knee and looks her in the eye. "Never hesitate to ask anyone for help. Especially me. I will always do my best, okay?"

Seulgi gives her a small smile. "Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're familiar with the original, you might find the pace is a little faster here but it's because we're going through a decade of friendship. It will slow down a bit later. ^^


	3. Pose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just gonna keep updating as soon as I finish polishing new chapters! I have tomorrow's ready already ^^

Seulgi grows a huge urge to prove herself as Bae Joohyun’s biggest fan when the episode with her first scene airs and the aspiring actress begins gaining attention.

Without an agency, she doesn’t have a profile readily available online nor does she have any social media except for an account on a forum for other teens with the same dream.

It’s 2009, Joohyun is starting her last year of basic education soon and Seulgi has to start seriously preparing for the arts scholarship application for the high school department.

Instead she’s at a PC Bang, typing up a profile for her best friend and favorite actress Bae Joohyun to upload online.

There’s not much to put there except Joohyun’s name, birthday, height, hometown, and blood type. The usual things you find on someone’s profile.

Joohyun likes the idea of not revealing much about her personal life, dreaming of building an image as an elusive but well-liked star.

“Baechu Farm,” the older girl repeats when Seulgi tells her about the blog she made for her while at the school library. “I shouldn’t have told you about that nickname,” she sighs, but it’s not long before she starts grinning like crazy, trying not to laugh.

Seulgi can draw and rather well so she even made her a logo and uploaded it. Talk about dedication.

The first post is Joohyun’s actress profile. The photo Seulgi chose was taken on the Kang family’s digital camera since she doesn’t have her own. She took Joohyun’s advice to practice her photography with the older girl as a model and her first attempt was instantly impressive.

“You even wrote ‘photo by Kang Seulgi’,” Joohyun points out. It’s ridiculous, she says, but she admires her boldness.

The second post contains screenshots from the drama, hyping up her acting even if she only had three lines, and a side-by-side comparison of how much she looks like the lead actress.

Seulgi shifts her eyes between the blog on the screen and her best friend’s reaction. The older girl is a little bewildered but the comments seem to agree. Her likeness to Seo Jihye is uncanny.

“See, people agree,” the younger girl says excitedly. “I mean, I know they wouldn’t have cast you if you didn’t look even a little bit alike but look! You’re like siblings.”

Joohyun laughs quietly and nods. “Whatever you say. She’s more beautiful, though. By a long shot.”

Her best friend pouts and the other girl just pushes her lower lip back into place. 

“Unnie,” Seulgi whines. “You were always pretty, I think you were born pretty, but you definitely got prettier over time. Imagine how much more beautiful you’d be at her age.”

The aspiring actress rests her hand on her palm and smiles. “You think so?”

Joohyun is holding her gaze now and Seulgi must admit she’s a little flustered.

“Yeah,” she murmurs, a little starstruck by her own best friend. Was her face always this close?

“I think you grew a lot prettier too.”

Seulgi’s mouth drops slightly open at the compliment. “What?”

Smirking, Joohyun lightly taps her chin upwards as if to tell her to close her mouth.

“You should try doing self-portraits,” the older girl says, diverting the topic but not quite. “It doesn’t have to go into your portfolio for the application but… I want you to become more confident in yourself.”

The younger girl catches her reflection on the screen in front of her, now dark after minutes of inactivity. “Me?”

“Yeah. People can find you pretty or attractive but it’s different if you take control of how you want others to perceive you,” Joohyun explains.

“I’m not following…”

Tapping her fingers against the table, the older girl tries to think harder. “Okay, so. When you exist and people have opinions of you, that’s it. But if you actively emphasize aspects of you when presenting yourself to others, and they end up thinking of you as that, it’s really satisfying.”

“It’s called branding,” Joohyun continues. “I learned about it in class. Apparently my classmates who have agencies get this thing called image training. Teaching you how to have a good reputation.”

Seulgi nods along, processing what she’s told. “So… are they faking their personalities on TV?”

The older girl chuckles. “Well, some of them really are not as great as they present themselves on TV. But it’s highlighting your best aspects, you know? Appealing to your audience by presenting an idealized version of yourself.”

“But you’re already perfect?” Seulgi says, genuinely confused on why Joohyun would need to do that.

“You know I’m not!” Joohyun counters. “I have my flaws. I do plan on showing a bit of that so I’ll feel more real. Just give a good peek at my personality without sharing too much.”

She thinks hard about it for a good minute. “So, you plan to show them how you find loopholes to make things work in your favor?”

“What is this callout,” the aspiring actress gasps, surprised Seulgi can say something like that about her. It’s true, they both know that. Joohyun will cheat when presented the opportunity, but only on things that are inconsequential like games and their stupid rules.

Seulgi laughs in a way that has her whole face scrunched up. “But yeah. Okay. I’ll try doing self-portraits because you told me to.”

(Joohyun sighs. Her smugness is rubbing off on the kid and it’s working against her.)

Joohyun gets called back to shoot a few more scenes.

It’s tedious how most dramas are filmed this way, the story changing to appeal to the audience’s reactions. Even more so that social media is starting to take root.

She receives extra pay for her efforts though. Not that she tells Seulgi but it’s obvious when she buys her grilled beef as an early birthday celebration.

When Seulgi returns from the restroom, there’s a neatly wrapped gift on top of the table.

“Happy birthday,” Joohyun greets with a chic expression. Her nonchalant look is replaced by a smirk when Seulgi starts to inspect it.

“My birthday isn’t until tomorrow, should I wait to open it?”

Joohyun tells her to sit down and just open it. “It’s not Christmas. I think you can open birthday gifts early.”

Seulgi prolongs an “alright” as she carefully unwraps the gift. It gets harder for Joohyun to keep her cool.

“A DSLR? Are you serious?” she nearly yells, loud enough for people at their neighboring tables to look their direction. “I can’t take this!”

The older girl pushes the gift back into her hands when she tries to give it back. “This is yours. You earned it.”

“Earned it doing what?” Seulgi whispers harshly, her face a mix of distress and joy.

“Running my fanclub,” Joohyun replies, only half-joking. The blog really did help her gain exposure even if she still doesn’t have an agency.

As a minor not represented by a company, her parents had to come up to Seoul to sign the contract but they allowed her to keep a significant portion of her pay. Most of it is in a savings account she can only access when she turns 20. That’s already next year.

“I have one condition, of course,” the older girl tells Seulgi, whose face is all puffy from happy tears. “Take photography very seriously.”

“I will,” she replies as her sobs calm down. “I’ll keep practicing! I’ll be so good I’ll be taking photos of all the biggest brands and stars, you included.”

Joohyun smiles at her affectionately. “I guess you have found your dream.”

“Thanks to you,” Seulgi says quietly, sincerely. She was cradling the camera like it was the most precious thing in the world but she looks at her best friend as she says this.

The aspiring actress shakes her head. “I only encouraged you and gave you a camera. You’re the one who’s going to take your natural talent and make the most out of it.”

She pauses, looks at the girl in front of her who still can’t believe it, then adds, “You will, right?”

“I will,” Seulgi declares, her newly found determination evident.

Joohyun boops her nose and giggles when she scrunches it. “I’ve paid the bill. Let’s go get ice cream.”

“My treat!” the younger girl declares happily.

When they get to the convenience store, she picks a Melona for herself and a red bean popsicle for Joohyun. She always teases her about her grandma-like taste in desserts but she’s too happy about her gift to even tease her this time.

“You’ll come to my birthday party tomorrow, right?”

Joohyun nods, smiling to herself.

(The actress managed to renegotiate a filming schedule. She couldn’t miss Seulgi’s birthday.)

When Joohyun arrives at the Kang residence with a lovely sunflower bouquet, the birthday girl and her mother are absolutely ecstatic.

Seulgi had only mentioned it in passing over a year ago but her best friend remembered her favorite flower.

It was only her favorite because it was her mother’s favorite. Now, she has her very own reason to love it.

The Kang family forgets to tell Joohyun about having a few relatives and family friends as guests. They recognize her from the show, the most recent episode having raked in double digit ratings, and she has to politely refuse photos and autographs.

“My management said I couldn’t when I’m not on an official schedule,” she explains with an apologetic smile.

‘Management’ is just her parents, the rules are something she came up with herself and refined with Seulgi. They don’t know that yet. The two girls giggle with each other.

The older Kang sibling knows but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he smiles, nonchalantly congratulates his former classmate for her recent success.

They won’t have any classes together for their upcoming final year, with the boy making the shocking choice to focus on business and management courses.

There’s already a university waiting to take him in as a varsity scholar, but he doesn’t see himself playing professionally.

Like other boys his age, he was planning to enlist straight after high school but the opportunity was too great to waste. It was a good university and he figured he can enlist after completing half the units in his business administration degree.

“What about you, Joohyun?” he asks, catching her off-guard. They were civil before but it’s strange to see him friendly.

Joohyun composes herself and smiles. “I’m applying for Chungang University’s College of Arts, Department of Theatre. They have a really good acting program.”

“A lot of famous celebrities graduated from there,” an aunt says. “You seem to be a good kid so don’t ever let the industry get to you. Always be kind.”

“I will be, ma’am,” she responds with a warm smile.

“What does Seulgi plan to do?” the same woman asks, looking at the confused kid sitting next to Joohyun. “Ah, you’ve grown up so beautifully. I wouldn’t be surprised if you become an actress too.”

Seulgi blushes and shakes her head. “I prefer to be behind the cameras.”

“Like a director?”

“I want to be a photographer,” she replies, looking to Joohyun for approval. Her best friend gives her a small nod. “I took the profile photo that Joohyun unnie uses.”

Her aunt nods in understanding. “You two are going to be very successful, I just know. I’m happy our Seulgi has a friend like Joohyun.”

Flustered, Joohyun covers her mouth as she smiles. “Thank you.”

As the guests begin to leave, Seulgi’s older brother excuses himself and returns with a gift box for his sister.

“Wow, I didn’t know you knew how to give gifts,” Joohyun teases. The boy just scoffs.

“This might never happen again so I’m cherishing it,” Seulgi says jokingly, gasping still when she opens the gift. “I thought this was broken?”

He shrugs. “I got it fixed. There’s a lot of shops that do that in Myeongdong.”

Seulgi opens their old film camera and carefully loads the roll of film that comes with the gift. She can barely control her excitement when the camera whirrs to life and the film counter moves.

The first photo she takes is of Joohyun and her brother politely smiling and making peace signs. Joohyun volunteers to take a photo of her since she’s the birthday girl and perhaps the older Kang’s real gift was taking a proper photo of the two best friends.

“Here’s some money to get your first roll printed. Happy birthday. Be good,” he wrote on an envelope placed in the box. Seulgi only discovered it when she took another look at her gifts before bed and she’s more than glad that she did.

“He gave me money!” she excitedly shares in a text to Joohyun. She safely made it back to her dorm room just half an hour before.

“So I’m not your favorite older sibling anymore?”

Seulgi laughs at the reply. “He’s slightly decent as an oppa now but unnie will always be my favorite!”

“Always? :\” the older girl messages back.

“Always!” Seulgi promises.

Joohyun replied with “Good ^^ You’ll always be my favorite dongsaeng too. Don’t tell my sister.”

“:o I won’t!”

“Good night, Kang Seulgi. Happy birthday.”

Seulgi yawns and smiles at her phone. “Good night, unnie. Thank you.”


	4. Blooming

Something changes about Joohyun when the new school year starts in March.

Just as the cherry blossoms begin to bloom, so does she.

She's smiling more, walking with more spring to her step, but also that she's telling Seulgi to wait more. Inevitably, she adjusts their usual meeting time to 15 minutes later.

Maybe because she's in 12th grade now and classes are a little more demanding.

Seulgi would want to ask why but she usually doesn't have to. Joohyun usually tells her everything.

It's alright, she supposes. Due to her best friend's busier days, filming a few interviews to help promote the drama, Seulgi has grown closer to other kids in her grade.

There's Kim Heejin and Ji Dongguk and Lee Hajoon, plus that Kim Jaehyun kid from a few classes down the hall who's close to the two other boys.

They're all planning to apply for the practical arts program in the high school department. Seulgi is the only one majoring in visual arts.

"But you can do everything!" Jaehyun says, as if it's absurd that Seulgi would rather be the one behind the camera than the one in front of it.

Hajoon is focused on the game he's playing on his phone, with Seulgi playing the role of backseat gamer, but even he manages to express his agreement.

"You can sing and dance and draw and take really good pictures," he says. The boy curses under his breath when he loses and Seulgi pinches his lips shut.

"Language," she admonishes. "And you should have listened to me when I told you to change your strategy."

Her friend blows a raspberry with his lips still pinched between her fingers, Seulgi yanking her hand away in disgust.

"And you did rather well when we had to do a skit in literature," Heejin says when Seulgi continues to ignore them.

Hajoon agrees, commenting that having Joohyun as a best friend must have its perks. Seulgi replies that she did get a little help from her.

“I’m pursuing photography and it’s final,” Seulgi tells them, her tone saying exactly that.

It started as a suggestion from Joohyun and inspiration from the dream her mom had to give up. Yet ever since she started practicing with her very own cameras, the DSLR Joohyun bought her and the film camera her brother got repaired, she has completely fallen in love with the art form.

Dongguk walks up to them, a guitar in hand. "I managed to borrow this from the other class. Want to play a few songs together?"

The other kids grinned enthusiastically. "Of course!"

It's nearly the end of March and her best friend's birthday is fast approaching.

Seulgi hasn't always been the best at gifts or at least keeping them a surprise.

She always ends up asking Joohyun what she wants because asking her brother to do that for her last year ended up in a near-disaster.

(He tried to ask another classmate to ask Joohyun, but he completely misheard while trying to eavesdrop. Good thing Seulgi knew how to deduce information and bought the right thing.)

Seulgi tries to use her observation skills to find out what to give her this year.

Joohyun never had a favorite color but recently it looks like it's purple.

She has a purple phone accessory now and a purple pouch and even her current journal is purple.

The younger girl decides she can get her best friend anything purple and she would love it.

It gets awkward when she begins to understand why Joohyun likes the color so much.

There's another girl with her at their usual spot. They're laughing and Joohyun has a hand around the other girl's wrist. It suddenly feels rude for Seulgi to approach them when it's supposed to be her time with Joohyun.

The other girl, who appears to be taller than Joohyun and herself, has a fair share of purple things on her as well.

She usually isn't the jealous type, really. Seulgi never demanded anyone's time and attention. She has her own group of friends now too. Why would she be?

When Joohyun has schedules or other fans start talking about how much they want to meet her, Seulgi doesn't mind because it's her career.

She never has to compete for Joohyun's attention. Not in the nearly three years they've known each other.

Not until now and she hates how it absolutely annoys her.

Joohyun belongs to no one. She made that absolutely clear. Seulgi believes she belongs to her own parents, but not Joohyun.

Joohyun always declared: it's her own life. She doesn't have to live by anyone else's expectations of her.

She stays out of trouble and minds her own business and lets her mantra work for her.

So the other girl doesn't own Joohyun either, right?

But neither does Seulgi.

She contemplates between waiting until the purple girl leaves or just approaching and (she hates that she's thinking about it this way) taking her rightful place.

The universe decides while she’s still deep in thought.

Joohyun sees her, waves her over, and the other girl leaves before Seulgi is close enough.

While she's usually good at keeping her feelings in check, Seulgi can't help but feel upset.

"Is there anything wrong?" her best friend asks, giving her a donut from the paper bag by her side.

Their snacks are usually warm and freshly made but the pastry was already on the cooler side.

"Who am I fighting this time?" Joohyun tries to joke, watching her eat quietly.

She shakes her head. "It's stupid."

The older girl clicks her tongue. "Nothing is ever too stupid if it's clearly bothering you."

Seulgi lets out a deep breath as she finishes her snack. "Who was that?"

"Kyunghee?" Joohyun asks, as if Seulgi would know who this Kyunghee girl is.

"The girl you were talking to?"

"Yeah, that's Kyunghee."

"...who is Kyunghee, exactly?"

Joohyun stares at her blankly before laughing, more at herself than at Seulgi.

"She's from the class next to mine. She transferred here during the fall semester last year but I only got close to her recently. Since I'm not that busy with the drama anymore."

The younger girl fiddles her thumbs and nods. A new friend. She should be happy for Joohyun. She doesn't warm up to new people easily.

"It's nice," Joohyun continues. "She didn't even recognize me from the show because she doesn't really watch TV. So I was comfortable talking to her."

Seulgi nods again and the older girl pokes her side.

"Say something, Seulgi."

"I'm still your best friend, right?" she asks so quickly, the words are mushed together.

"I…" Joohyun pauses, as if everything is only making sense now. She doesn't even laugh. "Of course. No one can replace the role you have in my life. Were you jealous?"

"I don't get jealous," Seulgi replies, even if the pout on her face betrays her. "Okay. Maybe."

The older girl pouts and takes her hand in hers. "You are my best friend and you always will be, alright?"

"Alright."

Joohyun sighs and pulls her cheeks up in a smile. "Plus Kyunghee is… different."

Seulgi looks at her curiously. “Different how?”

The senior lets go of her cheeks and looks down at the ground underneath them. "I don't know what it is. Or maybe I do and I just don't want to admit it." She shakes her head at herself and laughs. "Can we talk somewhere more private?"

The question alarms Seulgi. Joohyun doesn't really say things like this so she figures it might be something serious. She nods immediately and they gather their things to leave campus.

The two take the bus to the Kang residence and talk about Seulgi's day. Her inconsequential middle school life seems to bring Joohyun out of her thoughts for a while. They laugh and bicker and Seulgi is glad she can do something like that for her.

In the rare moments that Joohyun does open up, the words come out of her easily because it's Seulgi and they know each other the best in this world.

So it's weird when they sit across each other on Seulgi's bed and it takes her a while to start talking.

"What did you want to say?" Seulgi asks, hugging a pillow to her chest.

Joohyun mirrors her action using a stuffed pineapple toy and shrugs. "I don't know where to start."

"What about Kyunghee sunbaenim?"

The older girl looks at her and smiles sadly. She nearly forgot Seulgi doesn't know her like that.

"I think I'd need to go further back if I want to talk about it," she says awkwardly, her voice muffled behind the plushie.

"We have all the time," Seulgi tries to say, encouraging her. "Well, not really. You have a curfew."

Joohyun chuckles and places the toy under her chin. "I'm going to have to move into a studio apartment when I start university. Ah. I hope more opportunities come so I can afford it."

"There will be, silly," she replies, extending her leg so she can lightly kick Joohyun's knee.

The older girl smiles at her and clears her throat.

"I think I finally understand why I just never got the hype around dating," Joohyun begins quietly.

"I don't get it either."

The senior chuckles. "You receive a lot of love from your parents and friends so you don't seek it in a romantic partner."

"How is it different from your case, then?" Seulgi asks, eyebrows furrowed. She knows Joohyun is well-loved too.

"Remember when I said I think I had a girl crush?"

She nods, not quite sure where this is going.

"I don't think it was just… intense admiration. I don't think it was platonic," the older girl says quietly, refusing to look at Seulgi.

"Rather than just a simple girl crush," she continues carefully. "I don't want to be her. I want to be with her. Does that make sense?"

Oh. That's… interesting. Somehow Seulgi isn't surprised. Joohyun has rejected every confession she has received so far.

She only nods and, after a beat, says "Yeah. It makes sense."

Joohyun finally looks up at her. "You're okay with that?"

The younger girl nods. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I like girls the way girls usually like boys," her best friend says slowly, as if she's not sure Seulgi completely understands. "Are you okay with that?"

Seulgi nods again. It's not something she's familiar with but… this is Joohyun and she belongs to herself. And Joohyun is still Joohyun.

"I never thought you were capable of liking anyone in the first place," the younger girl says, laughing.

Joohyun smiles for the first time in a while. "I'd like to think I have very high standards."

"So… your crush on Seo Jihye was a romantic one?"

The older girl nods, chuckling now.

"Why would you like someone who looks like you? Sounds narcissistic to me," Seulgi teases.

Joohyun sticks a tongue out at her. "I told you, she's far more beautiful than I am."

Seulgi smiles. She likes seeing Joohyun happy and relaxed, arguing back at her. "Show me pictures of your… show me pictures of Kyunghee sunbaenim."

Joohyun takes her phone out of her pocket. The celebrity money must be nice. She's an iPhone user now. She takes her time looking for good photos and Seulgi scrutinizes the images for a while.

"Ah but you're prettier than her," Seulgi says, pretending to scold her. "I'm prettier than her!"

The older girl laughs and shakes her head. "I didn't know you could be so mean."

"Are your standards different when you like girls that way? Because I don't get why you like her so much," she continues to tease.

Joohyun frowns at her. "You can like someone for more than their looks, you know. I'd rather you look for someone with a good personality too. Someone who understands you and doesn't need you to be anything but yourself."

"And I thought I was the hopeless romantic between us two," Seulgi says, eyes crinkling in a smile. "You talk like it's… mutual."

The older girl's smile falters a bit and Seulgi curses herself mentally for saying that. She's supposed to be supportive of her best friend.

"She has a boyfriend," her best friend says, hugging the pillow in her arms a little tighter. The sight almost breaks Seulgi's heart. "It's fine. It's not like I have any plans to confess. We can just keep talking and that would be enough for me."

"And I have a career I'm building," Joohyun adds. "I can't let a crush distract me."

(She doesn't say it but Seulgi can hear it in the silence that follows. "Or cause a scandal.")

Seulgi opens her arms, pouting. "Do you want a hug?"

Joohyun accepts the offer happily and crawls into Seulgi's lap, wrapping her arms around her neck. "You are so good to me," she mumbles into Seulgi's neck, the words vibrating across her skin. The younger girl tries not to squirm from the sensation.

When the position gets uncomfortable, they manage to fit themselves on the tiny bed for a cuddle. They've hugged a lot, but only end up like this usually after a night of sleep and break away quickly after.

"Why do I like her so much," Joohyun whines as Seulgi holds her close. "Whatever. We're graduating in a year and she won't matter."

Seulgi frowns. "How are we supposed to hang out when you graduate?"

"Like this," she replies, curling up to her tighter. "I'll work hard so I have my own place in university and you can come visit. Even do sleepovers? Being an extra mouth to feed for your family is getting really embarrassing."

"I'd like that," the younger girl replies. "But you've bought us food a few times already."

Joohyun giggles. "That's nearly not enough for how much your parents have done for me. My parents sent them a gift basket last Seollal, remember?"

"Yeah. That was some really expensive beef."

Seulgi rubs small patterns into Joohyun's shoulder. If she was being honest, she can't feel her arm, but the older girl seems super comfortable.

"Really, though," she says suddenly, startling Joohyun a bit. "You should like girls who are as pretty as you. You deserve that."

Joohyun sighs. "Seulgi, no one is as pretty as me."

"No, of course not," Seulgi agrees, laughing. "You're beautiful. God herself. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

"You think so?" the older girl asks, actually sounding like she's seeking affirmation instead of just teasing.

"Of course," she responds, determined. "You're Bae Joohyun."

Joohyun nods, satisfied. "Hey, Kang Seulgi. Keep talking like that and I'll start to think I'm not the only one who likes girls here."

Seulgi denies with a laugh. "I just thought my position as your best friend was under threat. But no. You just have a crush on a girl who has a boyfriend."

"That's foul!" the older girl says, lightly hitting her closed fist on Seulgi's chest.

"And I'm prettier than her too," Seulgi huffs. Joohyun's smugness was really rubbing off on her.

"I couldn't like you like that, idiot," Joohyun scolds. "One, I'm an adult this year and you're a minor. Two, you're basically my younger sister now. More than my own flesh and blood."

The younger girl exhales deeply and chuckles. Alright. "Okay, unnie. At least I can cuddle up to you like this. All your potential suitors would be jealous."

"You really need better role models and other friends," her best friend sighs. "I wanted you to be confident, not cocky."

"I'm not cocky!" Seulgi interjects. "Fine. I'll tone it down."

Joohyun jabs a finger against her chest. "You need to shape up before I graduate because I can't supervise you closely then."

"You talk like it's your job to raise me."

"It's not my fault your brother doesn't do it himself," she shoots back. "I'm just… protective. You know how our friendship started."

Seulgi nods, understanding. "I don't know how to prove to you I can take care of myself but I'll try."

"I trust you," Joohyun says, making sure Seulgi is looking into her eyes.

Wow. She's gorgeous.

…

Seulgi said that out loud, didn't she?

The older girl giggles and presses a finger briefly against her nose, pretending she didn't hear.

"I have to go," Joohyun says quietly, sitting up from the bed. There's a moment of relief as Seulgi regains feeling in her arm. "Need to get my grades up for college applications."

Normally, Seulgi would insist she should stay for dinner, but… she has to sort out the fluttering in her chest.

She nods instead. "Take care, unnie."

Joohyun smiles, cheeks dusted pink if Seulgi isn't mistaken.

"Thank you for letting me be myself, Seulgi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to know what you think so please leave comments ^^


	5. Moments

“Unnie, are you trying to skip stones?” Seulgi asks as she returns to where she left Joohyun by the river. She’s pulling a tandem bike by her side. The older girl wanted to ride a bike and shamefully admitted she didn't know how. This was their best option.

Since it’s Joohyun's birthday, Seulgi offered to take over the task of renting one.

“You’re just throwing them, though?” she asks again, laughing at the struggle sounds her best friend is making with each attempt.

Seulgi sighs and kicks the bike stand into position, parks it gently against a bollard in case the stand fails her. She crouches and carefully chooses the right kind of stones if the other girl is going to be serious about her mission.

“They should be flat,” she explains even if she doesn’t think Joohyun is listening. She’s still trying to throw whatever, blindly picking up any tiny she can grab.

“And you want them to be the size of your palm, though you have a small one,” Seulgi continues. Baby hands, she once called them and rightfully earned a chasing across the school field. She grabs Joohyun’s right wrist and makes her drop the round pebble she had in hand. “Round stones are less stable. You want them to be a little triangular. I know I'm not that good in physics but… trust me.”

Joohyun looks at the triangular, flat stone in her hand. Her eyebrows are furrowed, more in annoyance than concentration. “And then what?”

Seulgi smiles and chooses one of the stones she collected. “Then you throw it like this,” she demonstrates. “Out and down, with the flick of your wrist. You want it to spin as you throw it.”

The stone skids perfectly against the water, three or four times before it sinks.

“I tried throwing it as hard as I can,” the older girl whines. “Why does it look easier when you do it?”

The taller of the two giggles. “You need to throw faster, not harder.” She stands carefully behind Joohyun and, after asking permission, takes her right hand.

Seulgi leaves a respectful distance between them because standing too close started to feel funny after that afternoon in her room. She moves Joohyun’s arm in the motion she should try to go for, swinging up and down until the older girl gets a feel of it.

“I can’t really make you flick your wrist by holding it,” she mumbles, steps back. “You try.”

Joohyun nods and tries to do what Seulgi showed her. It’s a success, kind of. The stone skips two times before sinking and the triumph on her face makes Seulgi’s heart soar.

“Do it again,” she encourages, a little frustrated still but happy with her progress. After two more attempts, Joohyun successfully skips a stone properly across the water for the first time in her 19 years of existence.

Huh. That means Seulgi is 16 now. She forgets her own age sometimes. She knows her birthday comes first but... Time just seems to pass.

It always feels like she met Joohyun just yesterday, but also like it doesn't make sense to not have her around.

“What’s the plan again for dinner?” Seulgi asks as they finally ride the bike. It’s not ideal to have a conversation when the wind is gusting past and the person she’s talking to is screaming happily.

“It’s a Korean barbecue restaurant,” the birthday girl answers. “We leave here at 5 and meet my family there.”

Seulgi nods, brushing her hair out of her face. The bike wobbles slightly when she lets go of one handle and it makes Joohyun scream.

“Trust me more, won’t you?” the designated driver yells out and the girl on the backseat just tells her to drive better.

They eventually find a comfortable speed as they ride along the length of the park they chose for the afternoon. They only rented the bike for half an hour but it’s exhilarating. Seulgi loves the slight burn in her legs and lungs while Joohyun simply had a lot of fun.

For her efforts, Joohyun buys them ice cream and they continue to walk along the park. Joohyun foiled her plans of getting her anything for her birthday and asked her to spend the afternoon with her instead.

“What’s your wish for your birthday, unnie?” Seulgi asks as they make it back to the locker where they left their things. They ended up leaving slightly later than planned.

She takes the plastic wrapper and popsicle stick from Joohyun, disposing of it in the trash.

The older girl fumbles with the code on their rented locker before answering. “I want to get signed to an agency before my next birthday.” She takes Seulgi’s small backpack, where they crammed both of their things, and hands it to the younger girl.

Seulgi checks the contents of the backpack before putting it on.

“I’m sure you can do it,” she cheers on. “You have a few auditions coming up, right?”

Joohyun nods, smiling. “The casting director for the drama told me about them.”

“Then you’re sure to get in?”

“She’s not on the panel,” the older girl explains. They start walking towards the bus stop. Taking a taxi was also an option, they’re close to the bridge and it wouldn't be that expensive. “She has her network of casting directors so she just found some stuff she thinks I can try for and sent them to me.”

A click.

Seulgi smiles when Joohyun looks towards her lens.

“I told you to stop taking candids of me.” It was supposed to sound like a threat. The aspiring photographer smiles even bigger.

“I got a lot of good pictures of you today,” she announces happily, tilting the camera screen towards her. “It’s a nice change, don’t you think? You really do look good even in candids.”

Joohyun sighs and takes a peek at the camera’s screen. “Wow. Okay. That’s not bad at all. I should be more aware of how all my angles look anyway."

“Right?” she asks again, smiling bigger now. “I decided I’m going to start a photography blog.”

“How are you going to manage my fanclub now?” Joohyun deadpans, making the both of them laugh. “That sounds great. It’s a way to get your work out there.”

Seulgi shimmies her shoulders excitedly and puts the camera back in her backpack. “It’s hard but I think I’d have to be open to criticism too? I want to receive feedback from experts if anyone happens to come across my stuff. I really want to be the best I can be.”

The older girl reaches over to pat her head. “Who are you and what did you do to Kang Seulgi? You’re growing up so fast.”

“I even outgrew you,” Seulgi says, copying how she cooed. She knows Joohyun would try to get her for it, but that’s why she’s still the fastest girl in her grade. Seulgi makes it to the bus stop before Joohyun does, even with a full backpack on.

The birthday girl doesn’t even bother to run when she sees Seulgi make it to the stop. She pauses to catch her breath and walks instead.

Seulgi thinks it makes a pretty picture. The sky is turning orange behind her as the sun starts to lower itself in the horizon. Joohyun brushes her hair out of her face and it reminds her of a movie so she takes the chance to add a few more pictures to today’s collection.

“Took you long enough,” she teases when the older girl finally makes it. Joohyun rolls her eyes and hails a taxi instead.

As soon as they get in, they settle on opposite ends of the backseat. Joohyun looks out the window as the taxi drives across the bridge and holds her hand out. Seulgi cheekily places her hand in the older girl's open palm and giggles when she turns to glare.

Sighing, Seulgi opens her backpack and fishes out Joohyun's phone and wallet then places them in her waiting hand.

How she can hold so much in those tiny, baby hands remains a mystery.

"Mom? We're on our way," Joohyun says into the phone. Their eyes meet when the older girl glances at Seulgi briefly and she looks out the window again. They're in Samseong now and the city is changing so fast.

Seulgi tries to flatten out any creases in her outfit with her palms. It's casual, Joohyun didn't need her to dress up given their itinerary earlier this afternoon.

A plaid button-down opened over a white graphic tee, jeans, and her favorite pair of Converse. Just her usual get-up. Joohyun was wearing a dark blue button-down and denim shorts with white sneakers.

The restaurant isn't that fancy but it does look expensive. People inside look rich, like they make more money than Seulgi can ever imagine. The birthday girl walks over to the reception counter and tells them she has a reservation.

How can someone so small look so powerful?

Joohyun commands attention with her confidence and posture while Seulgi's shoulders are slightly hunched over, trying not to look like a fish out of water.

"They're still setting the table," the older girl tells her, arms crossed and standing with all her weight on one leg.

"Unnie," Seulgi nearly gasps, tapping the other girl's shoulder repeatedly to get her attention. "It's Ji Sung," she whispers, head gesturing towards the celebrity in question.

"The actor?" Joohyun asks, shifting her gaze. "Wow, he's so tall. But hey. Stop staring."

The younger girl apologizes and looks at the floor.

"Ms. Bae, your table is ready," a waiter tells her with a polite smile.

It's set for six, Seulgi quickly notes. There's Seulgi, Joohyun, her parents, her sister, and one of Joohyun's little cousins.

The resemblance between Joohyun and her father is uncanny. He's a handsome, tall man with a robust build while her mother is small like Joohyun and definitely the one the younger Bae sister takes after.

"And this is my baby cousin Kim Yerim," Joohyun says affectionately. "She's only 11 but quite a ball of energy and smart too."

The older girl turns to the kid and smiles, "You said you were elected class president, right?"

Yerim nods and bows to Seulgi politely.

"Being popular and pretty must run in your family," Seulgi says, laughing. "Hi, Yerim. You can call me Seulgi unnie. I'm five years older than you."

"You're pretty too," the kid says shyly, proceeding to hide behind Joohyun's sister's shoulder.

Joohyun's sister smiles at Seulgi, introduces herself. She's two years younger than Seulgi, in her first year of middle school back in Daegu.

"I think it's good she decided to stay back home," Joohyun says, earning her a pointed look from her sister. "I mean, yeah, I miss you I guess but I don't want anyone bothering you about me."

The other Bae nods, laughing. She's already Joohyun's height, Seulgi observed, and is set to grow taller than them both in a few years.

"Yerim is unusually quiet," Joohyun's mother says, looking at the little kid. "Are you shy?"

"She doesn't really not shy even with strangers," the birthday girl comments.

Mr. Bae clears his throat. "My sister, Yerim's mother, is in the hospital right now waiting to give birth. Maybe she's a bit nervous or excited to meet her new little sister. Right, dear?"

Yerim nods.

"Is it her first sibling?" Seulgi asks curiously.

"No, unnie," Yerim replies. "I have two other younger sisters."

Seulgi makes an "o" with her mouth. "Then no reason to be nervous, I think you'll continue to be a great older sister."

The kid grins. "You think so?"

Seulgi nods. "You're so brave. I don't even have a younger sibling."

"Your older brother was Joohyun's classmate, right?" the older girl's mother asks.

"Yes, ma'am," she replies, trying not to laugh.

"You can call us mom and dad if you want," the woman tells her. "Joohyun tells us about you a lot and even if you're younger, she really does appreciate your friendship."

Seulgi smiles. "She told me I'm like her own little sister now."

("I couldn't like you like that," she repeats the words mockingly in her head.

She's not expecting her to, Seulgi argues with herself. Why is she so annoyed?)

"Even so, you should tell us if Joohyun here has a boyfriend," her father says, a mild hint of playfulness in his deep voice.

It almost makes her laugh knowing now that Joohyun wouldn't be having any boyfriends ever. Girls, on the other hand…

"She's been working hard at school and her career," Seulgi replies politely. "Sometimes she doesn't even have time for me," she adds with a laugh.

Joohyun's mom chuckles lightly. "You have a great role model in Joohyun then."

"Oh definitely," she says. "She helped me figure out what I want to do and taught me so much."

The older girl blushes a bit and adds, "Seulgi is starting a photography blog soon. That would help her promote her work."

"I wish I knew what I wanted to do when I was that young," her mother says, smiling fondly.

Over half an hour into the meal and Seulgi excuses herself to the restroom. She musters the courage to ask the receptionist if they were asked to note there was a birthday celebration on their table. She saw someone a few tables down get a small cake and a candle, and thought that Joohyun should get one too.

Joohyun being Joohyun, she didn't. Seulgi takes a second to gain more confidence for a second question and tells them there is, but the birthday girl made the reservation so she didn't say so.

The receptionist smiles at her and says alright, they'll prepare a greeting mini cake for her "sister".

She's used up all her confidence today and just let them believe so.

Seulgi pretends to be just as surprised as the others when the mini cake arrives and, at Joohyun's mother's insistence, they sing a birthday song for the birthday girl.

Joohyun looks very flustered if not straight up embarrassed but it's just another photo opportunity for Seulgi.

They're left with an awkward situation after dinner. The Bae family took a car all the way to Seoul and had planned to bring their daughter back to the dorm but there are six of them and the car could only comfortably fit five. They needed to drop off Yerim too.

Then there's Seulgi's bulky backpack.

"It's fine, Yerim can sit on my lap. The hospital isn't that far," Joohyun offers. "Is that alright, Yerimie?"

"I can go home by myself," Seulgi offers, her voice shaking a bit. "I'll take the bus."

The two parents look at each other then back at them.

"We'll drop off your sister and cousin at the hospital then come back for you," Joohyun's dad says. "You can buy something at the café over there. Does that work?"

He takes a ₩50,000 bill out of his pocket and gives it to Joohyun. There was no saying no.

"Yes, dad," the older girl replies. "We'll just be here!"

The younger kids give Joohyun a hug and wave at Seulgi. Yerim reluctantly returns the high five Seulgi tries to give her and it makes Joohyun laugh.

"I don't drink coffee," Joohyun says when they make it to the café. "And I already had that birthday cake."

"I can't drink anything bitter either."

"I know that, Ms. Sweet Tooth."

The younger girl chuckles. "Let's just get hot chocolates or something. What's a strawberry latte?"

"That's just fancy strawberry milk," Joohyun explains. "It might have real strawberry bits depending on the place."

Seulgi's face lights up. "Perfect. I'll have one."

They share a slice of plain cheesecake because Joohyun remembered how Seulgi looked at the cake she had earlier. It was just plain chiffon with slightly fancier icing but any cake is tempting to Seulgi.

Eventually, Joohyun gets her to confess that the greeting was her doing.

"I knew they did that for birthdays so I didn't tell them about mine on purpose," she says.

"But you looked very happy and surprised," Seulgi pouts.

"Well," Joohyun sighs. "It would have been awkward if I told them but you did so I appreciate it. I'll take that as your gift, in addition to this afternoon's date."

"Date?"

"Friends can have dates," Joohyun says, pouting her lips as she stirs her drink.

Seulgi pretends to think as she sips hers. "I don't know… last time you said something was platonic it turned out romantic."

The older girl kicks her calf from under the table. "Hey. Why do you want me to like you so much?" Joohyun puffs her cheeks and mumbles, "Just because I like girls, doesn't mean I'd like any girl."

"You're fun to tease!" Seulgi shoots back, laughing at her flustered expression. "And I'm not just any girl, mind you."

"If it turns out I'm the original gay of this friendship, I'll really have the last laugh."

"What's an 'original gay'?" Seulgi asks, still laughing. "Is there a 'fake gay'?"

Joohyun sighs. "It's when one member of a friend group comes out and the rest start questioning or realizing they're gay too."

"Friend group?" she repeats. "There's only the two of us."

"I told you to find other friends."

"I do have other friends!" Seulgi says defensively. "They just aren't friends with you."

Joohyun gasps, fakes offense. "Are you ashamed of me, Kang Seulgi? You should at least introduce them to me."

The younger girl giggles and says alright, when they're at school, but warns her that they're her fans. "I'll try to get their commitment to behave like civilized beings."

"So you're still hard at work as the founder of my fanclub?" Joohyun asks with a satisfied smirk. Seulgi opens her mouth to say something but chooses to nod instead. "Good."

They finish their drinks when the older girl receives a text that her parents are right around the corner. Seulgi offers Joohyun her arm on their way out and the birthday girl gladly holds onto it, thanking Seulgi for making today her best birthday yet.


	6. Aspirations

It's been two years since her last visit so another trip to the ophthalmologist is due. Seulgi nearly cries when she hears her eyesight did not get any worse but she needs to start eating her vegetables if she wants her eyes to be as healthy as can be.

And with dreams to pursue a career that needs her eyes, she begrudgingly agrees to a joint intervention from her mother with additional supervision from her best friend.

"Bibimbap." Joohyun happily pushes the meal towards Seulgi at lunch.

The younger girl loads it with the sauce and stirs, puffing her cheeks. "I do eat vegetables. I'm Korean."

"You can't just eat the ones you like. You're always avoiding the ones that are good for you."

Seulgi starts eating and exaggerates her reaction to how good it is, her eyes widening briefly when she bites into a bit of spinach.

"Cucumber?" Joohyun asks, a smirk growing on her face. "Spinach?"

Seulgi swallows and reaches for her bottle of cola. "Spinach."

The older of the two takes her own and sips, very obviously trying to stop herself from smiling. She needs to start eating her own meal and stop laughing at Seulgi every time she winces.

"Okay. When are you telling me why you bought me a meal?" Seulgi asks as she shows off her perfectly clean bowl. They had an unspoken rule of give and take or paying for their own when it comes to buying food but Joohyun was paying for dessert after this as well.

She smiles at her. "You got me." Joohyun sets her plate aside and leans over, her chin resting on her hand. "I got a callback. I'm doing a second audition this weekend."

Seulgi claps excitedly and holds Joohyun's face in her hands."I'm so happy for you!” Her face is so small and soft and Seulgi thinks about her perfect little chin and how no one realizes how square her jaw can be. “Which one is this?” she asks when Joohyun smiles. “Is it the one where you're an heiress or the one where you're the poor male lead's younger sister?"

The actress actually laughs and puts her hands over Seulgi's. "The one where I'm the poor male lead's younger sister."

"I was just kidding but I can't believe I'm right," she laughs, trying to pry her hands off but Joohyun is keeping her there.

"So those are the kind of roles you put me down for?" She pulls Seulgi's hands off her face but doesn't let go of them. The younger girl struggles for a response and Joohyun shushes her. "I don't blame you. I don't have a lot of options. Yet. One day, I'll get so many offers I'd even have to turn them down."

Seulgi slowly starts to smile, "You'll get there, surely."

"And I know you're putting in the work for your dream too" she tells Seulgi, sounding quite proud. Joohyun squeezes her hands.

"I am," she affirms, giggling. She tells her best friend about how her photography blog is going, how she did a photo walk along the creek near her childhood home when they visited last weekend, how hard it is to take pictures of pets when they haven't warmed up to you.

"And I wanted to post the photos from when we went to the Han River on your birthday, but I wanted to get your permission first."

"That's why I conned you into this hobby in the first place, right?" Joohyun jokes. "No, but really. I'm happy you found reasons to love it on your own. You can post the photos."

Seulgi's eyes disappear into a smile. "I have a title for it but it sounds corny."

"You're always corny," she points out.

The younger girl pouts her lips. "Whatever. If you want to find out, you'll have to check it for yourself."

"Then when are you uploading it?"

Seulgi sticks her tongue out. "I'm not telling you."

The blog is getting a few comments here and there and it makes Seulgi feel like she's a real photographer.

She considered applying as a photojournalist for the school paper but the editor-in-chief was too scary for her.

This is better. She has control over what she puts out and she can have a bigger audience.

Without any television appearances for three months now, people on her other blog are starting to wonder where Bae Joohyun is and what she's up to. If she was even real in the first place or just a dream everyone had.

The last update was a birthday post. Seulgi forced Joohyun to write a short message to her fans (all but two sentences) and Seulgi ran out of content ideas.

It was a little self-serving, but she uploads Joohyun's birthday photos on her photography blog first then posts two of what she deems are the best on the fanclub one.

"Click here to see more," she wrote.

The comments started coming in not too soon after. Joohyun's small but dedicated pool of fans thanked her for the photos, some of them recognizing her as the one who took her profile image, and agreeing with the title of her post.

She agrees with the actress. She’s cheesy. "Memories of a First Love" is a corny title but it fits.

Seulgi doesn't even think she has had a first love or a crush for that matter, it's something she never really thought about, but it's something people have used to describe Joohyun.

"First love memory manipulation" were their exact words. Others explained it as when you probably have never seen this person before but when you see them, they're so attractive that it tricks your brain into feeling for them as if they were your first love.

Her knowledge of love is limited to films and dramas but it seems right. Joohyun has that world-stopping, slow motion kind of vibe.

Love changes people, that's one real-life thing she knows.

Her brother got a girlfriend recently and he's a lot nicer suddenly, more willing to buy things for Seulgi or help her out with stuff. He refuses to answer properly when she asks if he loves his girlfriend but his actions overflow.

The last photo of the set was the one she took as Joohyun walked towards her at the bus stop, the sunlight in her hair as she brushed it out of her face.

Seulgi scrolls through the comments a little more and is happy that her photos can make others happy. To capture moments and share them with others, hoping they would feel the same way as she did in the moment she took them.

While she is still gaining confidence about her work, she thinks her photos of Joohyun are only good because they are photos of Joohyun, Seulgi creates a business email to add to her profile.

As with anyone her age, her existing email address was an embarrassing one.

She doesn’t expect anything of it. Seulgi continues to diligently upload new photos to her blog every other day and before she knew it, she’s gained quite a following. Not as big as Joohyun’s, but still a following.

Emails do come. There are further compliments and constructive criticism. There are journalists and magazine editors asking for permission to use her photos for articles. Some offered to pay her a fee although she didn’t know how much to charge and just accepted whatever they offered.

She probably needs to figure that out soon.

The one email that has her running out her house at 3PM on a Sunday months later, asking to meet Joohyun at the park, is from a small agency that represents a few respectable actors.

“They asked for your contact details and sent me stuff to prove they’re legitimate,” Seulgi said, still out of breath from running from the bus stop. “But I need your permission first, of course.”

Joohyun still can’t believe what she heard. She’s a little dazed looking at the email on Seulgi’s phone.

(It’s not an iPhone but for someone to have Samsung’s all-new Galaxy phone within a month of release, she finally felt more like she belonged in her private school.)

“You couldn’t have texted?” Joohyun asked, trying to tease but her voice is shaking. “You could have forwarded the email to me first!”

Seulgi finally gets up from having her hands on her knees. “I wanted to see your reaction firsthand!”

“Is this real?” the older girl asks again, returning Seulgi’s phone to her before she drops it. Her hands were shaking like crazy.

“Yeah, they said you can come to their office for an audition?” she shows her the email again. The agent asked Joohyun to bring headshots, a resume, and her acting reel. There isn’t much to put in her acting reel, just the few commercials she’s done and scenes from her one drama role.

“I need new headshots,” Joohyun mumbles. “I need to call my mom!”

“That’s why you have a photographer for a best friend?” Seulgi points out as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Joohyun’s chewing on her bottom lip as she waits for her mom to pick up. “When is this, again?” she asks Seulgi.

“Saturday, any time before 3PM.”

The older girl tries to call her mom again. “Why is she not picking up... What time do they open?”

“Doesn’t everything open at 10AM?”

Joohyun nods, picking at the dried skin on her lip now. Seulgi finds a stick of lip balm in her bag, one Joohyun bought her last winter because she wouldn’t stop picking at her own lips, and hands it to her.

“MOM,” the older girl nearly screams when her mother finally answers. She applies the lip balm and clumsily puts it back into Seulgi’s open palm. “I got called to audition for an agency. Yeah! They emailed Seulgi. Probably saw my picture on her blog and asked how they can reach me.”

Seulgi thinks her own smile looks pretty stupid but she can’t help it. Not even three months after Joohyun’s birthday, her wish is about to come true.

“I can talk to the casting director from my previous drama to confirm if they’re for real, if you like,” Joohyun offers, pacing around now. Seulgi is getting better at understanding her dialect. “Everyone probably knows each other. I can give her the phone number they sent Seulgi.”

The younger girl gestures to her best friend that she’ll do a quick run to the nearby vending machine. She needs a drink and thought of getting Joohyun one too as a small gesture of congratulations.

“What did your mom say?” she asks when she gets back and her best friend is typing on her phone.

“The casting director just got back to me,” Joohyun says, her expression a mix of bliss and disbelief. “It’s real, she said. She even called them to put a good word in for me.”

Seulgi looks at her and smirks.

“We all have to take advantage of what the universe gives us,” the actress replies, laughing. “I’ve given it my all so I’d consider this well-deserved.”

“It is, you do deserve it,” she agrees, giving her a cold can of cola. “Well, except the part you let the agency come to you instead of going out to audition for one.”

Joohyun just turns her chin up and laughs. “It makes for a good success story, don’t you think? And you get to be a part of it.”

There’s a different kind of warmth that blooms through Seulgi upon hearing that statement. Perhaps it’s pride, not entirely of just herself or just Joohyun but the thought of them building something together.

“You’ll get noticed for this too,” Joohyun tells her, looking up at the clear blue sky. “They might think you’re very young or you need more practice but I’m sure things will work out for you.”

If this was a different situation, Seulgi would have already said something along the lines of ‘and I thought you weren’t the sentimental type’. She joins her on the swing instead, taking the empty one beside her, enjoying their quiet triumphant moment.

Joohyun gets in and signs the contract because of course she does, she’s Joohyun. One of the actors in their agency happens to be a lead in the drama and if she wanted, they could make it so she wouldn’t have to do a second audition. It’s tempting, she admitted, but she said she wanted to do the audition still. Whether or not the agency had a hand at her ultimately getting the role remains a mystery.

It’s summer vacation now. Usually, the two of them would be going home to their respective hometowns, but Joohyun opted to stay to receive further training from the agency before her drama starts filming at the start of August.

“Will your drama wrap up filming before the CSAT?” Seulgi asks the day before she’s set to leave Seoul. Her hometown is only 30 kilometers away, she can take the subway or bus any time if she wants to meet Joohyun, but the idea of being in the same city is more comforting.

Joohyun nods. “Around two weeks before,” she responds. “I already have the filming schedule so I’m trying to plot out my study time. I hope there aren’t too many retakes.”

The younger girl nods. “I guess I’d have to start finalizing my portfolio for my application too.”

“The teachers already kind of know who you are,” her best friend tells her.

“Because I’m always hanging out with you?”

“No! You’ve been joining contests and winning. How would they not know who you are?”

Seulgi scratches her nape and laughs shyly. “I guess… I just join stuff whenever teachers tell me to.”

Joohyun sighs. “You need to start doing things with a little more purpose. ‘Becoming a great and famous photographer’ is not enough. You need to have specific goals on how you’ll get there.” The older girl looks at her, unsure if her point is getting across. “For example, I had a goal of getting signed to an agency. They will help me manage my schedules, get me articles and magazine features, help me have some sort of credibility to my name, even help me get roles.”

“...do photographers have agencies?”

Her best friend blinks at her, not wanting to judge the kid. “I think you’re better off freelancing. Be your own boss, that kind of stuff. Unless you get to work somewhere that’s more forgiving of you showing up late.”

“I’m not always late!” Seulgi says defensively. “I can wake up early on my own.”

“Your mother literally has to shove a ball of rice wrapped in seaweed into your mouth every other morning.” Joohyun says, pointing at the younger girl’s forehead for effect. “She told me. No wonder you eat like you’re famished at lunch time.”

“I just have a fast metabolism,” she mumbles, then goes back to thinking about her dream and plans for the future. “I think freelancing would be good. That way, I don’t have to wait until I’m hired to start working.”

Joohyun nods as if in approval. “See, we’re lucky to be choosing the paths we want. We still have to compete with others to succeed but… you’re talented. I’m talented. We work hard to always improve at our craft. We will rule the world one day, Kang Seulgi.”

Seulgi laughs. “The world?”

“Maybe South Korea at first,” her best friend muses, smiling.


	7. Distant

“They want me to use a stage name.”

“Oh.”

A long night of celebrating their wins and this is what Seulgi remembers when they’re sharing the double sized bed in Joohyun’s new apartment.

It’s strange. It’s their first sleepover outside the Kang home, an easy “yes” from her parents after they build trust and friendship over the years.

Seulgi is staring at the ceiling. Joohyun is already asleep, rolled off to the side when she was cuddling up to her earlier.

It’s nice. You and your best friend are entering new although very different stages of your lives.

New to Seulgi, at least. Joohyun has been on this path before.

Seulgi got into the practical arts program with a scholarship, specializing in visual arts just as she wanted.

Joohyun doesn’t have to worry about college tuition and living expenses after her recent drama ended with double digit ratings even if it aired on cable TV.

Irene. That’s the name they wanted her to use. The Greek goddess of peace. It’s Eirene, actually. But Irene sounds and spells better in English. And if she ever has to work on an international level, it won’t be Bae Irene. Irene Bae.

She wanted to rule the world one day and perhaps having a name that’s easier to pronounce for foreigners would help her do just that.

Seulgi thinks this because this kid who transferred from America kept mispronouncing “Joohyun” when they had their ice breakers after the freshman welcome ceremony.

The boy can barely speak Korean but she appreciates him for trying. Why is every Korean-American boy named something like Daniel or Joshua or Mark or Kevin?

Like most nights, Seulgi waits until Joohyun is deep asleep before she even tries. The older girl is a light sleeper and the younger one’s snores have woken her up too many times.

Her thoughts help keep her up, if “help” is even the right word. She knows Joohyun is Joohyun. That who Irene is will always be based on Joohyun.

She tries to comfort herself with the idea that no matter what the world will come to think of Irene, she knows who Joohyun is and Joohyun knows her just as well.

Seulgi finds herself quietly singing one of Joohyun’s favorite songs and it hits a little harder than she thought it would.

‘My dear, please be my strength  
So I can find this path that was given to me  
My dear, please clear the way  
To my hidden path’

Bae Irene, and probably one day just THE Irene, makes her debut on the cover of The Celebrity in time for her birth month.

Coming of age day is in May, but she’s totally all grown up now. The company keeps the youthful image, just the right amount of ‘ideal girlfriend’ even if Joohyun honestly despises it.

Joohyun gets her a copy and Seulgi promises one day it will be her taking the photos landing her on the cover of magazines.

“And not just a local magazine,” she promises. “Stuff like Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar. Real high fashion kind of things.”

The older girl chuckles. She wants to say she doesn’t recognize the girl on the glossy cover but she does. It’s still her, just a little more made up and wearing the representative piece of an up and coming Korean designer’s 2010 Spring Summer collection.

Seulgi looks more at the girl beside her instead of the one on the cover.

“What do you know about high fashion?” Joohyun asks, genuinely curious. No hint of teasing in her voice. Somehow Seulgi feels like she has to hang on to Joohyun’s every word.

She rotates her shoulders, hoping for a satisfying crack even if she knows her best friend hates it, and shows Joohyun pictures she saved from the internet.

“February is when the fashion capitals around the world do Fashion Week,” Seulgi explains. “Paris, Milan, London, and New York. Seoul Fashion Week is typically the first week of March. The fashion and the photography is just… spectacular. So I’ve been paying attention.”

Joohyun shifts her position so she can listen more intently, more comfortably. “Seems like something I should know.”

Seulgi’s mouth twitches into a little smile. “Irene Bae, Miu Miu girl. The face of Prada. I can see it.”

“I’m not even that familiar with luxury brands just yet,” the actress says, laughing to herself.

“You’d be perfect, trust me,” Seulgi insists, then goes back to explaining. “It’s more like a ‘see now, buy later’ kind of thing. In Spring they show you the upcoming collection for next Fall and Winter. In September and October, it’s what will come up in stores in Spring. A preview. Sometimes celebrities get to wear things before they’re even officially released so the hype is up when it’s out.”

“Imagine,” the younger girl tells her, enthusiastic. “You arrive at the red carpet of an awards ceremony and everyone is looking at you because you are the first person in South Korea to wear that dress. Or you’re wearing a necklace that can buy a whole house and then some.”

Joohyun just snorts, but not offensively. “I just… can’t wrap my head around the idea of anyone having that much money. If I ever get that rich, I’m definitely sharing it whatever way I can.”

“You have a point,” she agrees. There’s her hobbies and maybe nice clothes but… who needs that much money? She’ll probably even forget she has it.

“Okay, continue telling me about Fashion Week,” the actress urges on.

Seulgi nods. “So yeah, the creative direction that comes with it is really forward and mind blowing. There’s your usual pretty things, then there’s just pure art and genius. I don’t want to just take photos anymore. I want to direct concepts. I want to find my own fashion style too.”

Then she sees it.

Joohyun looks at her the same way she looks at Joohyun.

Like she’s some far away, distant dream. Like her feet have lifted off the ground and a new breeze is taking her somewhere unbelievable.

She doesn’t expect it to hurt. There’s a sense of being proud of the other person. It’s the core element of it. And there’s the unspoken fear that by following their dreams, although they are on parallel paths, would mean having to do it separately.

It’s the same industry, sort of. Seulgi will just be behind the camera. She’s just 17 and it’s definitely a little further away in the future for her but with the media agreeing that Joohyun has great potential as the next big thing, she doesn’t know how long they’ll be doing everything side by side. Joohyun is older and further in her career and Seulgi is scared of being left behind.

“No, I don’t know with what money I’ll be buying the kind of clothes I want,” Seulgi answers, letting out a hollow laugh. She manages to process the question Joohyun asked her even if she got too deep in her thoughts.

“You don’t have to buy me anything, okay?” she adds before Joohyun can even respond. “You do your thing, I’ll do mine. We’ll get to where we want to be.”

Joohyun gives her a questioning look. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself,” she teases. “I want to support my sister’s education and perhaps buy my parents a new car.”

“Of course,” she acknowledges, a little embarrassed of how she reacted.

The older girl smiles at her affectionately. She understands why Seulgi said what she did. Sometimes she wonders if she’s too overbearing but Seulgi just deserves so much.

Because it’s not just Joohyun who she’s helping.

She rarely, if not never, thinks anything of it but Seulgi overflows with kindness.

She’s almost always helping someone. No one expects the private school girl to climb trees to help the kids at their apartment complex retrieve a kite. She doesn’t think she’s not doing anything special when she stands up for her bullied friends. She doesn’t hesitate when teachers ask for help with something, even if it’s manual labor, or sitting down to help younger kids with their projects when she has time to spare.

Seulgi never tells anyone about what she does, but the school is not that big and word always makes it way around.

(She’s too good and Joohyun can be a little twisted, the older girl thinks. Years have passed and she still believes Seulgi deserves better friends, better role models.

At this point, she thinks Seulgi is just too kind to cut her off.

Why did she have to meddle?

But if she didn’t, who would have?)

High school is not that bad. It’s just everything would be a lot easier if you have your best friend close by.

University sounds interesting, based on what Joohyun tells her. Sure, the schoolwork takes up more of your free time than you think but there are less classes and you don’t have to be on campus all day.

It works for Joohyun, with her growing fame but also her natural need to be alone.

She calls or texts Seulgi when she can and even if they’re in the same city, they haven’t seen each other in a while.

Seulgi does have friends other than Joohyun.

Her circle from middle school is in the same program and they filled up her free time between classes.

The only thing she dislikes about the program is they try to do away with the core subjects required by the education system in the first year.

They get one general class in visual arts and another in performing arts.

PE would be the third class that she actually loves. She’s probably the only one in her entire grade who doesn’t dread running around the oval.

Seulgi holds the record in her grade for the pull-up test and she’s not sure if the teacher was serious but it’s the best for any female student in years.

It’s a little embarrassing to admit but she is beginning to see the upper body strength show in how she looks.

“Wow” is the first thing Joohyun says when they meet for the first time in nearly a month. They agreed to meet on her birthday, just a few days from now, but the older girl managed to finish her school work earlier. She will never say it out loud, but she misses her best friend.

“Wow what?” Seulgi asks, placing her jacket on the back of her seat. She’s taken a liking to white shirts these days. She gestures for the waiter and orders two sets of their usual grilled meat set.

“Wow,” she repeats, sounding like a broken record now.

Seulgi squints her eyes at her and thanks the waiter as they place their side dishes on the table. “We haven’t seen each other in almost one month and this is all you can say?”

Joohyun laughs and brushes her hair up with her fingers. “One, you called the waiter and ordered on your own volition. Two, you look… more filled out?”

“What do you mean?”

“You used to look like an elongated stringed bean.”

The younger girl kicks her gently from under the table. Joohyun dodges her somehow. “You’re so mean. But what does that even mean?”

“It’s weird to say,” Joohyun says dismissively. “You look like… the wind can’t blow you away that easily anymore.”

The statement starts to make a little more sense in Seulgi’s head. The way Joohyun described it was funny, she’ll give her that. “We’re doing dance in performing arts right now. There’s a monthly evaluation so I’ve been staying a little longer to practice. And then there’s PE.”

“You’re outdoing your entire grade again, aren’t you?” the older girl teases, taking a sip of service water. “Hmm. Their water isn’t bad today.”

Seulgi tries the water as if on cue and nods. “I agree. About the water, I mean. But yeah. I guess. If I can be good at something then why not, right? I’m not good at a lot of things.”

“I thought you always said lying is bad?” Joohyun counters. “You’re good at a lot of things.”

The younger girl turns her head very slightly and just smiles. No point trying to argue with her. “How is university?”

“I always tell you how university is.”

“Well, how are you?” she asks, her expression a little more curious.

Joohyun nods, checks her nails. “I’m managing well. I’ve always been good at studying so it’s the same thing. I hate the whole student experience though. Everyone’s always drinking or having sex. Not for me. And not worth the possible scandals.”

Seulgi blinks at her, her expression unreadable.

“Is it because I said sex?”

The younger girl nods slowly.

She laughs and shoves her face in her hands, pulling them down slowly. “I’m sorry. You’re a kid. Right.”

Seulgi mumbles a small “thank you” and rubs at her nape, as if it would chase the blushing away. “So no dates?” She tries to ask after their food arrives and Joohyun quietly starts cooking the meat.

It takes a while for the question to register, the older girl focused on her task. “No. I don’t even think I know anyone’s names. I just pick it up from others when we meet for group work.”

“No one has caught your eye?”

Joohyun shakes her head, placing some of the cooked meat on Seulgi’s side of the table. “I thought maybe you’re right and raised my standards.”

“Which is a good thing,” she adds, not letting Seulgi say anything. She’s right to do that. Seulgi would have just rubbed it in her face. Joohyun continues, “I don’t even know if I can date.. Safely?”

Seulgi smiles almost apologetically. She does want Joohyun to have someone good by her side.

“Maybe the Christians on campus were right,” Joohyun says, laughing to herself. She puts on her best preacher voice, the chatter around them getting louder anyway. “It’s okay to be gay. Just don’t act on it. It’s not like dating is worth the stress. Human relationships are complicated.”

“Isn’t it a Christian university?” Seulgi finally contributes to the conversation, taking a ‘break’ from eating. Joohyun finally eats from her bowl of rice. Funny how Seulgi used to wait for her to start eating first like the polite child she was.

“Yeah,” Joohyun confirms, laughing. “But the courses are so good. I like my professors too. I don’t regret it. You should consider it. They have a Photography major too.”

Seulgi gives her an awkward expression. “I just started high school. Please don’t pressure me too much.”

“We can be in the same school again, that’s all I’m saying.”

“Ah,” Seulgi sighs, leaning dramatically on the backrest. She even puts a forearm over her eyes. “I thought you were telling me this because you cared about my future and wanted me to have the best possible education.” Joohyun doesn’t give her the satisfaction of a reaction. Seulgi rests her elbows on the table, knowing very well it annoys her best friend, and smiles cheekily. “Saying ‘I miss you’ is shorter. Uses less words, considering you’re usually straightforward.”

With everything but her emotions, except for perhaps anger. That’s how Joohyun is.

She continues to not say anything about it and as they finish their meal, Joohyun finally gives an update on her career.

Adjusting to university is not easy so the agency is looking for short-term but high-impact projects for her to work on in between. There’s a role as the estranged daughter of a patient in this highly-anticipated medical drama, a skincare endorsement with a small brand being discussed, and a few brand-sponsored magazine shoots because the founder of this celebrity fashion marketing agency who likes her so much.

“You haven’t updated your photography blog in a while,” Joohyun points out.

“My usual model is very busy so…”

The older girl chuckles. “Find other models. Show them your versatility or something like that. Try to photograph men for once.”

“And give them the wrong idea that I find them attractive and want to date them?” Seulgi asks. “No way.”

“...you say that as if it had happened.”

Seulgi scrunches her face. “This new kid tried chatting me up after he learned about my work.”

Joohyun clicks her tongue. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“He’s kind of a big shot.” Seulgi bounces her knee as she responds. It’s not exactly an answer. “He was a child actor and people are kind of obsessed with ‘how well he’s growing up’,” she replies, making quotation marks with her fingers. “It’s really gotten into his head, I think.”

“So either he likes you or just wants to get something out of you.”

The young photographer tilts her head from one side to another. “Which one was it for you?” she manages to joke.

“This again,” Joohyun groans, but laughter comes easily after. “What’s his name?” she asks, throwing a few names out for consideration even if she’s not even sure they’re Seulgi’s age.

Seulgi confirms it’s one of the young male actors she mentioned and Joohyun tells her the boy is not just ‘kind of’ a big shot. “If he’s trying to get a photoshoot out of you, it can be a win-win and it’s good for your portfolio.”

“He offered to pay.”

“That’s even better!”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs. “I don’t want to let him think I’m indebted to him. Not that I feel that way about you, because you’re different. You’re not like that. I know.”

Joohyun smiles at the kind of trust she’s showing her. “Hey, you have a sought-after boy offering you work and possibly more than that. Shouldn’t you be happy or at least flattered?”

Seulgi looks at her like she wasn’t speaking the same language. “You are asking me to be the target of his likely crazy fangirls if he’s interested in more than just working with me.”

“You don’t like him?”

“No!” Seulgi interjects. “Where did you even get that idea?”

“It’s my first time seeing you reject an idea so violently,” Joohyun says, nearly falling out of her seat laughing. “If he asks you out, just say yes! Free food.”

“No!” she repeats, pressing her palms against her eyes. “I am not interested in him.”

Joohyun rests her chin on her palm, making eye contact when Seulgi rests her hands to her side. “You have never liked anyone the entire time we’ve known each other.”

“You have only liked one person the entire time we have known each other,” Seulgi counters, neither confirming nor denying.

“That’s not true.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Seulgi asks, the disbelief so evident it’s nearly hilarious.

The older girl looks flustered, if Seulgi would look closely. “Seo Jihye. Han Jimin.”

“Celebrities don’t count,” she huffs, crossing her arms. “Ones you don’t know that well, I guess,” she adds tentatively. “Unless you know them beyond their public persona. Or whatever.”

Joohyun pouts, nods. “Then it’s still not true.”

“Someone you’ve worked with?” Seulgi asks, her eyebrows still furrowed.

“Not a celebrity,” she answers, a small smile on her face. “But I’m not telling you. We’re allowed to keep secrets from each other.”

Seulgi shrugs, tries not to think about how that smile is mischievous but also a little sad. “I guess we can keep crushes a secret since they’re harmless.”

“Harmless,” Joohyun repeats, as if she’s contemplating if she agrees. “Right.”


End file.
